1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable display means, one embodiment thereof being a portable emergency distress signal for automotive vehicles which may, in its disassembled form, easily be stored in an automotive vehicle, but when assembled, be clipped to the side window to provide a distress flag which is easily seen all around the automotive vehicle. It should be understood that the invention can be used in many ways, such as to display political banners, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Practically since the time of the invention of the automobile, there has been the need for a distress signal to be used when such an automobile encounters mechanical problems. Many devices are known in the prior art showing various types of distress signals attachable either to the roof, the hood, the bumper or the side view mirror of the automotive vehicle by the driver when an emergency occurs.
Typically, these devices will consist of a base portion, which is usually magnetic in the case of devices to be attached to the hood or roof of the automobile, and which may be of other types when it is desired to attach the device to the sideview mirror of the automobile or perhaps, the bumper, thereof. However, these prior art devices are rather bulky in nature, in many cases, and there are several problems in the art associated therewith.
One attempt at providing an emergency distress signal involved devices which attach to the front or the rear bumper of the automobile, but these tended either not to be tall enough to provide for the emergency distress flag to be seen over the automobile, or they tended to be very bulky, because of the size of the pole which was needed in conjunction with the mounting means to raise the flag high enough to be seen.
An attempt to get around this problem was to provide magnetic mountings for mounting the flag on the hood or the roof of an automobile, similar to the flag which may be seen in funeral processions. However, these flags, if they are mounted on the hood, are mounted so low that they are not easily seen by other drivers when the automobile is parked off to the road by itself, rather than being in a line of cars. When mounted on the roof of the automobile, although the flags can be seen, in many cases they can not be so mounted because of the vinyl roofs which are prevalent in the automotive market. Also, these devices tended to be rather heavy and expensive, because of the magnets needed to hold them in place.
Another attempt to solve the problem of providing a satisfactory emergency distress signal was to make a distress signal mounted to the side view mirror of the automotive vehicle. This attempt at a solution, however, proved to be no more satisfactory than other solutions, due to the difficulties of mounting such a device to the side view mirror.
Another further attempt was made to find a satisfactory solution to the problem by mounting an emergency distress signal to the antenna of the automotive vehicle. It was soon found that this solution could not be used in cars which had their radio antenna embedded in the windshield glass. Also, it was found that if the emergency distress flag was made sturdily enough to withstand use, it was relatively heavy, and depending on the type of antenna, it would either bend the antenna excessively, or, if such antenna was a power antenna, expensive damage could be occasioned to such antenna. It was further found that in many cars if the power failed, the power antenna automatically retracts, leaving no place to mount the emergency distress signal.
Thus, this attempted solution to the problem in the art was also unsatisfactory. Therefore, I desired to develop an emergency distress signal which did not mount to any of the locations used in the prior art, and which would, therefore, avoid long standing problems in the art, but at the same time was sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of use, was small, and light enough to be easily stored in the automotive vehicle, and yet, could be easily seen all around the automotive vehicle when in use.